BlazeAid's Debra Ong and Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
“I won’t forget you.”
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A poignant promise to bushfire victims and recovery volunteers by Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn in Creighton’s Creek on Thursday, as she toured the region to meet locals and survey the damage in the wake of January’s devastating Longwood Bushfire.
“The governor-general’s job is to show up, turn up and listen to you and to do everything I can to tell those who should be turning up that they need to come, that they need to pay attention,” Ms Mostyn told the crowd who had gathered at the CFA Hall, which is currently doubling as the area’s volunteer BlazeAid camp after moving there from Euroa Showgrounds a couple of weeks ago.
“I know the local council is working really hard — I saw the Strathbogie councillors in Canberra and they told me about just how you all felt, from anger to sadness to just feeling forgotten.”
Ms Mostyn said a governor-general’s “superpower” was to observe, listen and then create wider awareness of the issues communities are facing.
“I don’t have any policies, I don’t do politics, I don’t have any grants to make; that’s not the role of the governor-general, but it is to reflect the light and shade of what’s happening in the country back to people who can make a difference, but also to let people in our country know that people care, and I care very deeply about you all,” she said.
“Whatever I can do, I’ll be telling the stories of what’s happened here, what you need, the amazing work of BlazeAid, the volunteers and the sense of community spirit; it’s such an Australian story and we should be paying attention and care about it.
“You just shouldn’t be without recovery this far after an extraordinary catastrophic event.”
The BlazeAid crew with Governor-General Sam Mostyn.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Community members, including firefighters and volunteers, lined up to speak with Ms Mostyn and get photos with King Charles III’s Australian constitutional monarch’s representative.
Many thanked her for showing up, while expressing their disappointment that neither Victorian Premier Ben Carroll nor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had visited the region since the natural disaster, which started on January 7, burned more than 136,000 hectares of land, destroyed hundreds of buildings and claimed the life of local cattle farmer Max Hobson.
Governor-General Sam Mostyn talking to Longwood bushfire-affected community members at the Creighton’s Creek Hall.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Ms Mostyn visited other locations in the fire zone on October 8, including the Bushfire Recovery Hub in Euroa.
The day before, she dropped in to Shepparton’s CFA headquarters and Scouts, and will be a special guest at Shepparton’s milestone 150th agricultural show this weekend.
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